Chargers home state likely not impacted by sports wagering until 2020

Chargers home state likely not impacted by sports wagering until 2020

California was ahead of the sports wagering legislation curve back in 2016, but there was no follow through it appears. According to Assemblymember Adam Gray’s website, “When Gray introduced AB 1437 last September, it was the first substantive bill in the nation to propose regulating Daily Fantasy Sports. Today, it was the first bill in the nation to be approved by an entire legislative body.” The legislation was introduced back in Jan. of 2016 and passed the Assembly Floor on a 68-1 vote, but it died along the way and never became law.

Now, with the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), states are scrambling to get legislation passed to allow sports wagering in their states. Delaware has already taken its first sports wagering bets and is the first state outside of Nevada to do so since PASPA was repealed. Now once again, Assemblymember Gray is saying he will get some amendments on the table so the legislature can take advantage of the repeal. However, it doesn’t look like anything substantial is coming out of those statements.

The deadlines are proving extremely tight for anything sports-wagering related to be on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. The last day for a legislative measure to qualify for the Nov. 6 general election ballot is June 28. It seems highly unlikely that in less than a month the amendment will make it through all the legislative red tape and then get the governor’s signature. This bill was originally introduced in 2016 and has yet to clear all the red tape. It seems highly unlikely the red tape will be easier to clear in an even shorter window. This amendment would need to garner 2/3 approval in the state legislature to be put on the November ballot as a referendum issue.

The other issue present is one of regulation of the sports wagering scheme. Even if an amendment to the California constitution happens, regulations still need to be in place in order to take advantage of the changes. The California Horse Racing Board is currently the only entity to regulate sports wagering in the state and it seems likely another entity to regulate this possible new venture would need to be created. Let’s say all of the steps are hurdled within less than a month’s time, then the decision ultimately lays in the hands of the voters in November.

The deadline is too tight and government typically works too slowly on these measures to see sports wagering in California in 2018. The Amendment proffered in 2016 is also deficient of many areas necessary for a sports wagering scheme to be put in place. There is no substantive mention of what the taxes will be, if an integrity fee will be assessed, or what the licensing fee will be. Other states, such as New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, have some or all of these components in their current sports wagering legislation. Thus, AB 1437 would need to be scrapped all together or heavily edited to make sense in the current sports wagering climate. Either of those things seem highly unlikely to occur during the current legislative window.

While it appeared California was ahead of its peers back in 2016 in terms of sports wagering, it seems they have dropped to the back of the pack. The earliest sports wagering could be feasibly seen in California is 2019, but a safer bet is 2020. Therefore, Californians are still going to need to make the trek to Nevada for the foreseeable future if they want to bet on sports.

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